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Latest reporting

Investigative reporting from footnote4a.org

• Costa Mesa Keeps Flock

  July 22, 2026

  After an officer abused two police databases to stalk women, Costa Mesa, California, heard nearly five hours of resident opposition — cutting speakers' time partway through — before voting 6-1 to keep the system.

• Flock Blames Bad Data While Blowing Past Every Guardrail

  July 20, 2026

  Two journalists were stopped over a partial plate in an NCIC hotlist. Flock calls it a feature; the NCIC operating manual calls it a violation.

• Flock Would Rather Jail Cops Than Turn Off the Cameras

  July 18, 2026

  Flock credits its AI-powered "Audit Assistance" tool for a wave of officer arrests — press releases included. Exposing abuse after the fact isn't a fix; it's what keeps the surveillance sellable.

• Cleveland Makes First Flock Referendum Possible

  July 17, 2026

  Cleveland's Flock contract extension passed 9-6 — one vote short of emergency effect, giving Clevelanders 30 days to force a referendum.

Legal and constitutional

• Carpenter v. United States (2018)

  The Supreme Court held that long-term collection of cell location data is a Fourth Amendment search requiring a warrant. Advocates and courts have applied this reasoning directly to ALPR data retention.

• Commonwealth v. McCarthy (MA, 2020)

  Massachusetts' highest court ruled that retaining ALPR data beyond 48 hours requires a search warrant. One of the few state-level rulings specifically addressing ALPR retention periods.

• Schmidt v. City of Norfolk (E.D. Va., 2026)

  Active federal case challenging Flock Safety on Fourth Amendment grounds. Litigated by the Institute for Justice. Outcome may directly affect how other cities can legally operate ALPR networks.

Investigations and reporting

• "When license plate readers get it wrong"

  CBS News, July 2025

• "One sleepy Virginia town, nearly 7 million hits"

  Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism / WHRO, September 2025

• "The Nationwide Revolt Against Flock Safety Cameras"

  New Republic, February 2026

• "Why some cities are canceling Flock contracts"

  NPR, February 2026

• "Police camera" investigation

  The Marshall Project, March 2026

• "Flock camera installations broke laws in at least five states"

  Forbes, February 2024

• "Police have used plate readers to stalk romantic interests at least 26 times"

  Institute for Justice, retrieved July 2026

Data and research

• "Data Driven: Explore How Cops Are Collecting and Sharing Our Travel Patterns"

  EFF / Maass & Lipton, 2021. An interactive tool mapping how police departments share vehicle location data across the country. Shows the national scope of ALPR networks.

• ALPR Audit Report

  Virginia State Crime Commission, January 2026. State audit documenting how many times Virginia's Flock networks were queried by outside agencies. The primary source for the nearly 7 million searches figure.

Organizations working on this

• Electronic Frontier Foundation Digital rights. Publishes ALPR research and tracks surveillance policy.
• ACLU Civil liberties. Has challenged ALPR deployments in several states.
• Institute for Justice Litigating Schmidt v. City of Norfolk, the active federal ALPR challenge.

Printable materials

Free downloads from deflock.org/store. Print and share.